Playing the role as the driver of Chinese economy, the nation's top 100 cities contributed 70.23 percent of the country's GDP last year, a report said.

The top 100 cities created a combined GDP of 69.58 trillion yuan last year, the lion's share of the nation's GDP of 99 trillion yuan, and their development will significantly guide the nation's economy, said a report published by the Warton Economic Instituteon Tuesday in Shanghai.

The listing analyzed GDP criteria, including household savings, government revenue, environment, science and education, and culture and health, and came to the conclusion that Beijing is China's top city, followed by Shanghai, Guangzhou and then Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province.

Ranking fifth to 10th are the East China cities of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, then Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province and Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu province, and in Southwest China, Chongqing and Chengdu in Sichuan province.

"There are 25 cities from the Yangtze River Delta region appearing on the top 100 city list, and they have formed the nation's strongest economic region with the most balanced economy," said Duan Xiaoguang, secretary-general of the Warton Economic Institute.

Both the Pearl River Delta region and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region have eight cities on the list, and their regional development outlook is set to fuel their respective growth, as well as the coordinated development of China as a whole, the report said.

Shen Hanyao, president of the Warton Economic Institute, said although a city cluster is the most competitive regional development model, there are other unexpected problems emerging, such as traffic congestion, cramped living space and environment pollution.

"Building multiple centers in a city cluster could be a solution," Shen suggested.

The Warton Economic Institute is a Shanghai-based organization focused on research of macro economy and regional economy, and enterprises analysis.